{"id":22685,"date":"2019-01-16T21:57:46","date_gmt":"2019-01-16T21:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/16\/3-ways-chinas-military-could-use-cyber-in-war\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T17:51:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:51:07","slug":"3-ways-chinas-military-could-use-cyber-in-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/01\/16\/3-ways-chinas-military-could-use-cyber-in-war\/","title":{"rendered":"3 ways China\u2019s military could use cyber in war"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A new report from the Defense Intelligence Agency provides insights in to how the Chinese military might deploy cyber capabilities in a future conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report<\/a>, which provides an overview of China\u2019s entire military, notes the People\u2019s Liberation Army could use cyber capabilities to support military operations in three critical ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Relying on cyber reconnaissance to better plan cyber attacks,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Establishing information dominance in the early stages of a conflict to constrain an adversary\u2019s actions or slow information warfare activities,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Expecting that cyber will act as a force multiplier when coupled with conventional capabilities during a conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report also notes that China\u2019s cyber capabilities could also focus on targeting links and nodes in an adversary\u2019s mobility system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2015, China reorganized and consolidated all of its information-related capabilities \u2013 think: cyber, space, electronic warfare, command and control and information operations \u2013 under a single entity called the Strategic Support Force centralizing them for overall better command and control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DIA\u2019s report<\/a>, as well as other DoD reports on China\u2019s military<\/a>, note that the SSF marked the first steps in the development of a cyber force \u2013 similar to U.S. Cyber Command \u2013 by combining cyber reconnaissance, cyberattack and cyber defense capabilities into one organization. This move could help reduce bureaucratic hurdles and centralizing command and control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A senior defense official, speaking to reporters, cautioned that it is difficult to determine how effective the Chinese military\u2019s cyberattack capabilities could be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cyber espionage<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The senior defense official also noted that DIA\u2019s assessment focused on how the Chinese would intend to use cyber capabilities in wartime and how that would be different from the Chinese military using cyber for corporate espionage or the theft of intellectual property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s use of cyber to penetrate companies around the world and steal trade secrets for the benefit of Chinese companies has drawn the ire of many nations. The U.S. government has indicted several Chinese, including members of the PLA, for their actions on this front since 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\t